Peanut digger



Feb. 18, 1947.

T. HOWARD ET AL PEANUT DIGGER Filed Aug. 31, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Feb.18, 1947. HQWARD 2,416,006

"' PEANUT DIGGER Filed Aug. 31, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Gm megs vator rodsI l Patented Feb. 18, 1941 watt UNITED S ATES PATENT OFFICE ToombsHoward and E .'Ga.,assignors to Col pany, Columbus, Ga.,

The present invention relates t6 improvements in peanut harvesting plowsand has for an object to provide an improved plow for the harvesting ofpeanuts without injuring the tap roots.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved peanut plow asan adjunct and accessory toa tractor cultivator of a conventional typewherein the added parts are few, simpleand easily and readilyaccommodated to the cultivator attachment I A further object of theinvention resides in' providing an improved variety of adjustments areai'forded to bring the cutter blades to a correct (depth and correctangle formosteflicient severing of the vines and the clusters ofpeanuts'without .disturbing the tap root which mayv remain inrthe groundfor refer- .scale, of one of the plow units, being the right hand plowas removed from the tractor.

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the plow. shown in Figure 2 with aportion of the frog and blade shown in section.

Figure 4 is a transverse section .taken'on the.

line 4-4 in Figure 2, and

Figure 5 is a top plan view of the frog dis- Y assembled from the otherparts.

Referring more particularly to the drawings l designates generally atractor of a construction and type well known in agricultural work and Hand I2 designate the cultivator attachment rods which are standardequipment on present forms of cultivator tractors.

The invention consists of one or more attachments that may be fitted tothe pairs of cultiand I2 at each side of the tractor Hi. In the instanceshown two plow blades l3 and 14 are supplied having their cutting edgesangularly inclined and mutually converging rear-y wardly. Inasmuch asboth right and left hand units are identical save for position of theparts, it will sufiice to describe one ofthe units.

Two or more cross bars l5 and I6 support the peanut plow in which asymbols refer to dgar R. Barr,

Columbus,

umbus. Iron Works Come a. corporation of Georgia Application August 31,111944, Serial No. 552,160

3 Claims. (Cl. 59)

-cross bars straddle zontal webs of the angle plow upon the cultivatorrods II and H2. The the pair of cultivator rods II and I2 and restthereon with the ends extending beyond the outer portions of the rods.Clamp plates I? and I8 engage beneath the rods II and I2 and are affixedto the cross bars I Sand I6 by the bolts I9. Additional perforations 20may be formed in vertical bolts IS in a selective manner to accommodatewider or narrower cultivatorrods l I l2.

The cross bars I 5 and I6 support angle irons 2| and 22 having theirhorizontal webs resting on intermediate portions of the cross bars l5and I 5 and with their vertical webs disposed mutually toward oneanother but in spaced relation. Clampv plates 23 and 24 are carried bythe horialignment to receive the inner irons 2| and?! and extend beneaththe cross bars I 5 and l6, there being bolts or other fastenings 25uniting the angle irons with their clamp plates 23 and 24. Whereas the.cross bars l5 and I6 extend transversely. of the longitudinal center ofthe tractor cultivator ID, the angle irons 2i and 22 extend lengthwiseof the tractor. v 1

' The vertical webs of the angle irons receive therebetween the beam 26of which beam may be curved as indicated in Figure 3 and having itslower stock end received in a frog to which the blade I3 is attached.The forward end of the plow beam is pivoted or bolted at 37 to theangleirons 2| and 22. Near the rear end portions of the angle ironsvertically elongated slots 28 are made in the upstanding webs, suchslots opening through the upper edges of thewebs and such slotsreceiving therethrough the end portions of a bolt or pin 29. carriedbythe beam 26.;

The. frog is preferablymade in two parts consisting of a bottom plate 30with an upstanding wall 3| along the rear portion of its outer edge andconstituting one of the sections while the the plow other section iscomprised of the 'fdrward wall the front wall 32 form a box or casing toreceive .the lower stock end of the plow beam 26, such plow beam beingpivoted by a bolt or other mem nut vines just along slots 28, the beamthe flange 34 bolts to the fastening 31 engages through arcuate slots 98in the side walls 3| and 83 which slots extend generally ina horizontaldirection having their curvature, struck from the center 39 as a radius.

" This bolt 3I, is carried at its-central portion by 28 may also ifdesired the beam 26. The slots of which is the be struck on a curve thecenter pivot point 21.

As clearly seen in Figure .5,. the bottom frog plate 89 may be of agenerally triangular shape with its forward apex truncated and with itshypotenusearrangedon the inner side of the plate. This hypotenuse mayextend on an angle or inclination conforming generally to that of I theinclination given the blade 13. The blade I3 is adjustably carried bythe bottom plate by means of a bolt or other pivot 99 and a bolt orother fastening 40. The,pivot 39 engages through a plate perforation 4|while the fastening 49 may be engaged selectively with anyone of aseries of holes 42 in the frog bottom plate 30. The holes 42 may be in acurved series struck from thecenter of the perforation 4|.

The blade l3 has two cutting edges 43 and 4,4 and a double set ofapertures 45 and 46 for enagement with the bolts 39 and so as to bereversible. The ends of the blade B are cut off at angles 41 to enablethe ends to lie substantially in the direction of movement of the bladeso that the entire forward cutting edge of the blade will be reinforcedby linear portions of the blade direct to the rear cutting edge andthere will be no projecting portions of the blade which v turbed. To

might be subjected to strain without having the full support of theentire transverse mass of the blade.

When the beam 26 is level the blade l3 ordinarily has the right depthtocut roots of peathe nuts so as to leave the tap-root in the ground.

One plow may be mounted upon a cultivator if desired but a set of plowsconsists of one right hand and one left hand plow enabling two rows ofpeanuts to be dug at one time.

' The slots 29 and bolt an immovable object. In this event the ends ofthe bolt 29 will beforced upwardly out of the 26 pivoting on the forwardstud 21.

The part l2 may beam. The slots 38 able an extraheavy beam lowered asdesired. I

The frog is preferably made from two pieces of extra heavy steel. Thebottom plate 39 gives the blade iii the exact set from one end totheother as the blade bolts to the fiat surface of the frog bottom plate30. The top member of the frog consisting of the walls 32 and 39 and bean extra heavy channel at the top of the frog en- 26 to be raised orforce it. This top piece is also bolted to the beam-29 to make the plowmore substantial. The top piece of the frog also forms a hood for thebottom piece. and the beam so that vines will not hang and choke theplow. The frog is designed so as to place the beam 26 at the extreme endof the blade l3 and to allow passage of vines before the roots are cut,this feature keeping the plow from choking.

The rear bolt 40 is light so that the blade l9 will shear this bolt incase the blade strikes a root, rock or any immovable object.

2a are provided so that: the plow may release itself if the point I9strikes ening the bolt 29' the beam 26 may be adjusted up and down in avertical sense pivoting about the center 21. The nut of the bolt 29 maythen be tightened to bind upon the side walls of the slots 28, washersbeing shown between the bolt head and the nut for the purpose of givingextensive friction surface engagement against the sides of the angleirons 2| and 22. In this way the adjustment may be preserved except whena superior forcekicks the beam 26 upwardly forcing the bolt 29 out ofthe slots 28. It will be noted that this adjustment is substantiallyvertical and that in making any such adjustment the horizontality of theplate blade I3 is discorrect this, an adverse condition to plowing, theplate I3 is movable about the pivot 38 when the nut of the bolt 31 isloosened. After the blade I3 is readjusted to a correct horizontalposition, the nut of the bolt 31 is retightened to preserve thehorizontal adjustment. Thus the blade l3 may be adjusted up and down todifferent horizontal planes consistent with the depth of the vine stemsjust below the nut clusters and despite such vertical or depthadjustment the plane of movement of the blade in the horizontal may bepreserved. It will appreciated that this is important when consideringthat a plate blade is used and that of an unusual length and the factthat such long thin plate blade is carried at an angle to the line ofdraft.

It is obvious that various changes and modifications may be made in thedetails of constructicnand design of the above specifically describedembodiment of this invention without departing from the spirit thereof,such changes and modifications being restricted only by the scope of thefollowing claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An improved peanut plow comprising a bottom plate, a blade attachedto said plate, a wall bottom piece 30 to reinupstanding from said plate,a second wall spaced from the first mentioned wall and erected upon saidplate, a beam entering between said walls and pivoted thereto, and aconnecting means spaced from the pivot between said beam and walls andpermittingv of the adjustment by rotation of the beam in the walls.

2. An improved peanut' plow comprising a blade, a frog carrying saidblade and comprising top and bottom members. said bottom membercomprising a bottom plate and an upstanding side wall at the rear sideedge thereof, said top member comprising side and front walls arrangedangularly to one another and an inturned base flange on the side wallaifixed to said bottom plate with the two side walls spaced apart andthe front wall closing the space between said side walls, said sidewalls having arcuate coincident slots therein, a beam pivoted betweenthe side walls below the slots, and a pin afiixed in the beam and havingits end portions playing through said slots.

. 3. An improved peanut plow comprising a beam, a support to which aforward portion of said beam is pivoted, said support having ver- 25tically elongated curved slots, a fastening and 5 binding member carriedby said beam and engaged through said slots for binding upon the wallsof the slots to adjust the vertical angular position of the beam, a frogcan'ied by said beam, a plate blade carried by said frog, said frogpivoted to said beam, said frog having horizontally elongated curvedslots, and a fastening member carried by said beam movable in said lastmentioned slots and bindable against the walls of the last mentionedslots. TOOMBS nowarm.

EDGAR R. BARR.

nan-"muons cum The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

Number Benjamin June 21, 1932

